BERKELEY – Adam Mazarei, who played an instrumental role in a turnaround at Vanderbilt and spent six successful seasons at the NBA level, has joined the California men's basketball program as an associate head coach, head coach Mark Madsen announced Thursday.
Mazarei, a Thousand Oaks, California native, returns to the West Coast after four seasons (2019-23) on staff at Vanderbilt under head coach Jerry Stackhouse, the final year in which he was an associate head coach. During Mazarei's tenure in Nashville, the Commodores made consecutive NIT quarterfinal appearances in 2021-22 and 2022-23 as part of the program's first winning seasons since 2016-17. Vanderbilt's 22 wins last season were its most in more than a decade.
In six seasons with the Memphis Grizzlies (2013-19) – three as an assistant coach and three as a player development assistant – the organization made the NBA playoffs four times, including a 55-win campaign in 2014-15 en route to the second round.
"Adam has a deep and expansive basketball mind and is one of the best Xs and Os coaches in the country," Madsen said. "His experience and success with the Memphis Grizzlies and most recently at Vanderbilt will mesh perfectly with where our program is heading in the future. Adam is a tireless leader and our young men are going to benefit from him on and off the court in the best ways possible. We're thrilled to have him in Bear Territory."
Mazarei's impact at Vanderbilt was swift, as he oversaw team skill development and scouting while assisting with practice planning, player development, recruiting and academics. He saw two Commodores – Aaron Nesmith, Saben Lee – selected in the 2020 NBA Draft and was vital in the three-year progression of Scotty Pippen Jr., who led the SEC in scoring in 2021-22 before signing with the Los Angeles Lakers.
"I'm both excited and incredibly thankful to join the Cal family," Mazarei said. "Mark has been a consistent winner throughout his career and I greatly admire his unrelenting energy and desire to develop young men on and off the basketball court. I look forward to working alongside this terrific staff in Berkeley as we strive toward the common goal of building something special. I know this will be a tremendous opportunity to grow both as an individual and as a coach. Go Bears!"
Mazarei quickly climbed the ladder in Memphis, going from player development coach to advanced scout to NBA personnel scout, all while maintaining his player development duties. Once promoted to assistant coach ahead of the 2016-17 NBA season, he was responsible for the Grizzlies guards and young talent, including Mike Conley, Andrew Harrison and Dillon Brooks.
Prior to arriving in Memphis, Mazarei spent three years (2010-13) at Moorpark College (Calif.) as an assistant and associate head coach. He also served as a player development coach at the IMPACT Basketball Academy in Las Vegas from 2019-13, where he prepared pre-draftees for the NBA combine and team workouts.
Mazarei's coaching career began at the grassroots level in 2006 when he founded Kings Basketball Academy, a Southern California-based youth program that helped develop 44 collegiate athletes.
Mazarei received his master's degree in athletic administration and coaching from Concordia in 2013 and earned his undergraduate degree in psychology from the University of Redlands (Calif.) in 2006, where he starred at point guard and led the SCIAC in assists per game and paced all NCAA divisions in assist-to-turnover ratio (5:1) as a senior.
WHAT THEY'RE SAYING ABOUT ADAM MAZAREI
"Coach Maz was a tremendous help in my development during my sophomore year at Vanderbilt. He brought NBA coaching experience to our program and taught me as much as he could to prepare me for the next level, from off-the-court tendencies to my on-floor abilities. He was always willing to put in the extra 1-on-1 work with me and always held me accountable when I wasn't doing what I needed to. The Golden Bears got a great one in Coach Maz." – Aaron Nesmith, Indiana Pacers guard and 2020 NBA Draft lottery pick
"Coach Maz was crucial in my development as he helped me improve my game on the court and gave me advice as a man off the court. I appreciate him so much for everything he's done for me, and we'll always have a relationship. Coach Maz cares deeply about his players and wants the best for them in every aspect of life." – Scotty Pippen Jr., Los Angeles Lakers guard and two-time All-SEC first team selection
"I met Adam early in my professional career when I made the leap from Europe to the NBA and signed with the Memphis Grizzlies. I did skill development with him every morning and got the chance to see the devotion and knowledge of his craft. We've always stayed in contact throughout our career journeys and I'm excited to have him be a part of the Cal family." – Patrick Christopher, Cal alumnus, former NBA player and two-time All-Pac-10 first team selection
THE MAZAREI FILE
Personal
Hometown: Thousand Oaks, California
Alma Mater: University of Redlands, 2006 (BA, psychology); Concordia, 2013 (MS, athletic administration & coaching)
Coaching Experience
2009-13: IMPACT Basketball Academy (Player Development)
2010-13: Moorpark College (Assistant/Associate Head Coach)
2013-16: Memphis Grizzlies (Player Development)
2016-19: Memphis Grizzlies (Assistant Coach)
2019-23: Vanderbilt (Assistant/Associate Head Coach)
2023-Present: California (Associate Head Coach)
But but you have to practice at the RSF with IM ballers!GoCalBears said:
Sounds like a great hire.
Both Madsen and Mazarei bring NBA coaching and player development experience to Cal.
For any HS player that wants to play in the NBA, Cal looks like a great spot.
My point exactly. And much more succinctly.GoCalBears said:
Sounds like a great hire.
Both Madsen and Mazarei bring NBA coaching and player development experience to Cal.
For any HS player that wants to play in the NBA, Cal looks like a great spot.
Oh come on Koreambear. That had to be tongue in cheek. But if not, just think. If getting practice space and where has risen to the level of a cognizable issue, imagine how many BB issues we've already risen above!KoreAmBear said:But but you have to practice at the RSF with IM ballers!GoCalBears said:
Sounds like a great hire.
Both Madsen and Mazarei bring NBA coaching and player development experience to Cal.
For any HS player that wants to play in the NBA, Cal looks like a great spot.
Completely tongue-in-cheek. Mad Dog has made it a non-issue. Fox and Knowlton made that an ongoing issue along with injuries and COVID. I posted elsewhere in the rise of the Tedford era, he was able to get us nationally relevant with some real downtrodden facilities. It's about the energy, ambition and talent of the leader (and now us using NIL to our benefit!).ktownbear83 said:Oh come on Koreambear. That had to be tongue in cheek. But if not, just think. If getting practice space and where has risen to the level of a cognizable issue, imagine how many BB issues we've already risen above!KoreAmBear said:But but you have to practice at the RSF with IM ballers!GoCalBears said:
Sounds like a great hire.
Both Madsen and Mazarei bring NBA coaching and player development experience to Cal.
For any HS player that wants to play in the NBA, Cal looks like a great spot.
Ktown_bear83
Like the guy said: "Oh, and you know? It's not going to take as long as you think,"
Thought so about tongue-in-cheek. You'd think that by now I should recognize KoreAmBear humor when I see it, but I'd become disengaged... Your comparison to what Tedford had to deal with is apt, and illustrates how much better off Cal's teams are now. I never understood the recent whine about BB practice space / facilities. I look at Haas. I look at the Rec Center. Both look pretty new to me, but maybe that's because, like Elrond, I was there at the very beginning, for each. Is finding and scheduling sufficient MBB practice space across those two facilities too difficult for U.C.Berkeley? Or is it that a separate practice court dedicated and available exclusively to MBB is now more-or-less expected of sucessful program, kinda like the wood-paneled locker rooms up in Oregon?KoreAmBear said:
Completely tongue-in-cheek. Mad Dog has made it a non-issue. Fox and Knowlton made that an ongoing issue along with injuries and COVID. I posted elsewhere in the rise of the Tedford era, he was able to get us nationally relevant with some real downtrodden facilities. It's about the energy, ambition and talent of the leader (and now us using NIL to our benefit!).
I had the same questions concerning the last part of your post. I never got that issue. Seems that regardless of our space limitations, Cal men's basketball would seem to get the highest priority for any of the facilities. Is Newell Court in use for lectures or tests that much that it's a problem -- would it be a problem at night? Seems like there are a lot of courts at the RSF we can't get 1 or 2 full courts blocked off for Cal men's hoops to play/practice on? I could see it being much more relevant for football and baseball, which require lots of dedicated, specialized real estate with far more people involved.ktownbear83 said:Thought so about tongue-in-cheek. You'd think that by now I should recognize KoreAmBear humor when I see it, but I'd become disengaged... Your comparison to what Tedford had to deal with is apt, and illustrates how much better off Cal's teams are now. I never understood the recent whine about BB practice space / facilities. I look at Haas. I look at the Rec Center. Both look pretty new to me, but maybe that's because, like Elrond, I was there at the very beginning, for each. Is finding and scheduling sufficient MBB practice space across those two facilities too difficult for U.C.Berkeley? Or is it that a separate practice court dedicated and available exclusively to MBB is now more-or-less expected of sucessful program, kinda like the wood-paneled locker rooms up in Oregon?KoreAmBear said:
Completely tongue-in-cheek. Mad Dog has made it a non-issue. Fox and Knowlton made that an ongoing issue along with injuries and COVID. I posted elsewhere in the rise of the Tedford era, he was able to get us nationally relevant with some real downtrodden facilities. It's about the energy, ambition and talent of the leader (and now us using NIL to our benefit!).
KoreAmBear said:I had the same questions concerning the last part of your post. I never got that issue. Seems that regardless of our space limitations, Cal men's basketball would seem to get the highest priority for any of the facilities. Is Newell Court in use for lectures or tests that much that it's a problem -- would it be a problem at night? Seems like there are a lot of courts at the RSF we can't get 1 or 2 full courts blocked off for Cal men's hoops to play/practice on? I could see it being much more relevant for football and baseball, which require lots of dedicated, specialized real estate with far more people involved.ktownbear83 said:Thought so about tongue-in-cheek. You'd think that by now I should recognize KoreAmBear humor when I see it, but I'd become disengaged... Your comparison to what Tedford had to deal with is apt, and illustrates how much better off Cal's teams are now. I never understood the recent whine about BB practice space / facilities. I look at Haas. I look at the Rec Center. Both look pretty new to me, but maybe that's because, like Elrond, I was there at the very beginning, for each. Is finding and scheduling sufficient MBB practice space across those two facilities too difficult for U.C.Berkeley? Or is it that a separate practice court dedicated and available exclusively to MBB is now more-or-less expected of sucessful program, kinda like the wood-paneled locker rooms up in Oregon?KoreAmBear said:
Completely tongue-in-cheek. Mad Dog has made it a non-issue. Fox and Knowlton made that an ongoing issue along with injuries and COVID. I posted elsewhere in the rise of the Tedford era, he was able to get us nationally relevant with some real downtrodden facilities. It's about the energy, ambition and talent of the leader (and now us using NIL to our benefit!).
